Virus testing vital "for greater good" says Fleetwood boss Joey Barton after family tragedy

Barton’s Fleetwood Town squad resumed training last week ... and resumed coronavirus testing.

And head coach Barton fully supports the testing protocols.

He told Sky Sports News: “We’ve been tested quite frequently – at least about five or six times for the play-offs.

“We’ve come back now and have to be tested, then halfway through pre-season and then just before the league starts.

“Getting a tube down your nasal passages and then the back of your throat is not nice but you’ve got to do it.

“But it is uncharted territory and you’ve got to put your own grievances to one side for the greater good.”

And Barton knows what tragic consequences the disease can have, adding: “I have lost a family member through coronavirus or complications due to it, and a lot of people know someone who has, so it is something that is affecting everyone and we just need to do what we’re told.

“It’s not easy for me to do what I am told all of the time.

“But if it keeps people safe, and someone has to stick an object down my throat and up my nose to keep people safe, then so be it.”

Reports are linking Fleetwood with the former Sheffield United midfielder Mark Duffy, though Town have bolstered their midfield ranks this summer with the signings of Callum Camps, Jordan Rossiter and Glenn Whelan.

Former Scunthorpe and Morecambe man Duffy, 34, has spent the past four seasons with the Blades and had loan spells with Stoke City and Dutch club Den Haag last season.